Clutch.



H. H. MARKER.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. 191a.

Patented. M1220, 1915,

Wilma 30w I HENRY H. MARKER, 01E MOUNT CLEMENS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 01ETHREE-FOURTHS T0 FRANK G. KR'UEGER, MARVIN AFSMITH, MD RALPH. S.. MOORE,ALL 01E DETROIT,

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CLUTCH.

niaaoea .7

i specification of Letters Patent.

Patented a e; an, ieia.

hpptieatlonnled'luecember a, 1913', arterial No. eoaate. I

citizenof the United-Statesvof America,-

residing-at Mount Clemens, Pin the county of Macomb and State ofMichigamhaveiu vented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutches,of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being bad therein tothe accompanying drawings;

'lhis invention relates. to clutches particularly adapted for use .inmotor .vehicleconstructions for connecting the. motor. and powertransmitting mechanism, and its object isto provide a cone clutch withsupplemental-means whereby motion will be imparted to the driven memberbefore the cone clutch becomes operative to give a gradual evenengagement and a positive drive when.

engaged.

A further object is to. provide a simple:

compact construction having certain other new and useful features all ashereinafter more fully described.-

With these and other-endsin ,view the invention consists in anarrangementof cone clutch and friction member with. lever mechanismwhereby the friction member is: first brought into operative positionand then the cone member engaged, said .members alternately serving asfulcrums for the levers.

The invention also. consists in the construction and arrangement ofparts whereby a simple and compact device is secured having other newanduseful features, all as hereinafter more fully. described, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which+- of a clutch embodyingthis invention, and Fig. 2 is an end view of the same.

1n describing my invention by means of the drawings above referred tolfdesire to point outthat I intend said views as merely illustrative ofan example whereby my invention may-be applied in practice, and 11 donot limit'my claims to the arrangement and construction of partsindicated. 'The following description is therefore to be construedbroadly as including the mechanical arrangements and constructions whichcome within the spirit of this invention.

1n the drawings 1- denotes a driving element in the form of a shaftwhich is preferablyformed'with a flange 2 adjacent to the end thereofand mounted upon the shaft 1 andiembracingthe'flange 2 is the hub andweb .of a-fly or balance wheel 3 having an offset'rim 4, the flangeproviding 0 convenient place of attachment for bolting or otherwiserigidly securing the wheel to the shaft. :Rigidly secured inany suitablemanner to one side of therim 4, as by screw bolts .51, is the peripheralflange 6 of an annular clutch member 7 which extends inwardly-beneaththe overhanging rim of the fly wheel into the chamber formed thereby andsaid-member 7 is formed with an annular friction surface 8 on its outervertical face and an angularly disposed friction surfaceon its innerannular face 9 which is preferably disposed at an obtuse anglerelatively to the face 8 and extended the full vwidth of. the clutchmember which projects to approximately the full depth of the fly wheelchamber. v

Slidably mounted and free to turn upon the projecting end of the shaft 1is the hub portion 10 of a clutch wheel or member 11 having a rim 12provided with an angularly disposed face confronting the face 9 of themember 7, said wheel forming a cone to frictionallyeengage the opposingcu-p formed by said member. The surface of the cone is coverediwith alining 13 of fiber or other suitable material forming a frictionsurface,

andwhen the cone member is moved, the lining 13 is brought intofrictional engagement with the contact face- 9 of the cup member 7.

Sleeved upon the projecting end of the shaft 1, between its flange 2 andthe adjacent Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionalview end of the hub ofthe cone member, 18 a conventional form of anti-friction end thrustcollar 15, which together with the said hub is free to movelongitudinally of the shaft 1. A driven element or shaft 18 is in axialalinement with the shaft 1 and thereof provided with flanges 20 formingan annular groove 21, the purpose of which will presently appear.Loosely mounted upon the sleeve 19 against the outer flange 20 thereofis a ring 22 having diametrically opposed studs 23 extending into slots24: provided therefor in the yoke 25 of an operating lever 26,illustrating a conventional form of pedal for shifting the operatingsleeve 19 to throw out the clutch.

A plurality of lugs 14 project outwardly from the rear edge of the rim12 of the cone member and projecting outwardly from the end of each ofsaid lugs 1s a pair of apertured ears 27 between which is fulcrumed alever 29 upon a pin 28. The inner ends of the long arms of the leversengage the annular groove 21 of the sleeve 19 and the outer ends of theshort arms of said levers are bifurcated or slotted, as at 30, to engagetransversely arranged pins 31 carried by pairs of ears or lugs 32 on anannular clutch ring or member 33 slidably mounted upon the outwardlyprojecting lugs 14 of the cone wheel 7 and supported thereby with itsplane side which is covered with a lining 34 of fiber or other suitablematerial adjacent to and confronting the friction surface 8 of the cupmember 7.

Encircling the driven shaft 18, between the flange 17 and the inner endof the sleeve 19, is a coiled compression spring 35, acting to move saidsleeve longitudinally upon the shaft away from the cone wheel and rockthe levers 29 upon their pivots 28. The first rocking movement of saidlevers forces the friction ring 33 into frictional contact with the face8 of the clutch member carried by the fly wheel, the cone wheel 11serving as a support for the lever fulcrum. After the ring 33 has beenbrought into contact with the surface 8, further movement of the leverscaused by the action of the spring on the sleeve 19, will draw, the coneinto frictional engagement with the surface 9 of the member 7 owing tothe fact that as soon as the ring 33 is fully seated on the surface 8 itbecomes the support for the levers, their pivots 31 then becoming theirfulcrums so that the levers turning thereon will act through the pivots28 to move the cone with its driven shaft 18 longitudinally, said shaftbeing so mounted as to be free to move a limited distance.

The disengagement of the clutch members to stop the transmission ofmotion from the driving to the driven shafts is accomplished by pressingforwardly on .the pedal 25 against the action of the spring 35. Thisforce will move the driven shaft 18 with its cone member 11 until thehub of said cone abuts the thrust collar 15, when a further v movementof the sleeve will swing the levers 29 upon their pivots 28 as fulcrumsand move the friction ring 33 out of contact with the surface 8 Thespring 35 thus acts to normally hold the friction surfaces engaged andthe clutch operative to transmit motion from-the driving to the drivenshaft.

By providing the auxiliary clutch or friction ring 33 and operating thesame as described, motion is transmitted to the driven member before themain or cone clutch becomes eifective, and thus the sudden jerks andstrains incident to the sudden application of power to the driven shaftin automobile constructions are obviated, and the construction of saidauxiliary clutch is such that it will slip when brought into frictionalcontact with its driver and thus gradually apply the power. The main andauxiliary clutches are so combined and arranged that when both areengaged, slippage is preventeddue to the peculiar manner in which thecone is gripped between them and a very simple and compact constructionsecured. By pivotally supporting the levers 29 near the periphery of thecone, levers having co nparatively long arms are employed thus1ncreasing the leverage and obviating the necessity for a very strongcoiled spring to hold the clutch engaged and the pivotal connections ofthe levers to the clutch members is such that the friction ring is firstbrought into contact with its driver and then serves as a fulcrum forthe levers to turn thereon and bring the cone into frictional contactwith its cup, the clutch members thus alternately serving as fulcrumsfor one another and operating, one in advance of the other.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is.

1. In a clutch, a driving element, a main clutch member adapted toengage said driving element, an auxiliary clutch member slidable uponsaid main clutch member and adapted to engage said driving element, andmeans pivotally connected to and supported by said members for movingthe same into contact with the driving element whereby said membersalternately serve as fulcrums for said means to move the auxiliaryclutch mechanism in advance of the main clutch member.

2. The combination with a movable main clutch member and a drivingmember, of an auxiliary clutch member adapted to engage said drivingmember, and means con necting and pivotally attached to said main andauxiliary members for moving the same into contact with the drivingmember and adapted to first move the auxiliary member into contact withthe driving member. said auxiliary member then serving as a fulcrum for.said means in moving the main member into contact with the drivingmember.

3. In a clutch, the combination with a cone member and a cup member, oneof which members is fixed and the other movable into contact therewith,of an auxiliary Illll hill lib

mber carried by the movable clutch in 1 her to engage the fixed member,and actuating means adapted to alternately use said members as fulcrumsfor moving one mem: her in advance of the other.

l. The combination with a cone clutch having relatively fixed andmovable clutch members, of an auxiliary clutch member mounted upon saidmovable clutch member to move longitudinally thereon into contact withthe fixed mber, and actuating levers carried by said movable clutchmember and pivotally attached thereto and to the auxiliary clutch memberfor first bringing said auxiliary clutch member into action by turnmgthe levers upon the movable member andthen bringing the movable memberinto action by turning the levers upon the auxiliary member.

5. in a clutch, a member having an internal conical contact surface andan annular end face, a cone'member adapted to engage the conical face ofsaid member, an annular auxiliary member shiftable upon said cone memberinto contact with said end face of the first mentioned member, and meansadapted to shift said auxiliary member in advance of said cone member.

6. ln a clutch, driving and driven elements, a clutch member carried bysaid driving element, a second clutch member on the driven elementadapted to engage the first mentioned member, an auxiliary clutch membermovable longitudinally upon said second named clutch member and adaptedto engage the first named clutch member, fulcrumed arms carried by saidsecond named member and havin the outer ends thereof loosely connectedwlth said auxiliary clutch member, and means for turning said arms upontheir connections with each of said members.

7. ln a clutch, a drivin cup member, a driven cone member mova le intoand out of contact with said cup member, an auxiliary member movableupon said cone member into and out of contact with said cu member,levers pivotally attached intermedi- 8. In a clutch, drivin and drivenelements, a cup member carried by said driving element, a cone membermovable into engagement with said cup member, an auxiliary memberslidable longitudinally of and rotatable with said cone member andadapted to engage said cup member, levers fulcrumed upon said conemember and connected to said auxiliary member to move said member inadvance of said cone member, and sprlng pressed means acting upon saidlevers to clutch member, an auxiliary clutch memhe v mov 1wlongitudinally of said main clutch member and confronting an end ofsaid-driv ing clutch member, and actuating means radiating from saiddriven element and hard at on with said main and auxiliary clutchmembers and means for moving said actuating means whereby saidauxiliary,

member servm as a fulcrum for shifting said main clutch member.

10. In a clutch, the combination of a drivin shaft and a driven shaftarranged in axlal alinement, a cup member carried by said driving shafthaving an internal friction face and an end face, a cone member on thedriven shaft movablelongitudinally into engagement with the cup, anauxiliary clutch member slidably mounted upon the cone member andconfronting an end face of said cup, levers pivotally attachedintermediate their ends to the cone and pivotally connected to theauxiliary member at their ends, means slidably mounted on the drivenshaft for engaging and operating said levers, and means for moving saidslidable means.

11. Ina clutch, the combination of driving and driven elements, a cupmember secured to said driving element, and havin an internal conicalfriction surface and a p ane surface, a cone member onthe driven elementhaving a conical friction surface to engage the internal surface of thecup and bearing portions extending beyond the end surface of the cup, anannular auxiliary member mounted upon said bearing portions andconfronting the end face of the cup, levers fulcrumed upon said bearingportions and pivotally connected to said auxiliary member with theirends extending radially toward the driven element, and means slidable onthe driven element in engagement with said levers whereby said leversare shifted to move said clutch members in opposite directions intoengagement with said cup member.

12. In a clutch, the combination of a driving shaft, a driven shaftin'axial alinement with the driving shaft, a fly wheel on the drivingshaft having an overhanging rim forming a chamber in one side, anannular cup member secured within said chamber and having a conical borewith the end of the bore of greatest diameter at the inner end of thechamber, said bore forming an internal friction surface, said cup memberbeing also formed with a plane outer end surface, a wheel on the drivenshaft having a conical surface forming a cone to engage the cup member,lugs on said wheel near its ice P P YP F through the p -f spring on thedriven shaft to move the sleeve 10 ber adjacent to sa1d end surface, anann rin one direction and actuate the levers.

lar member having a surface opposing sald 'In testimon whereof I afiixmy signature end surface andfshdfixhllylmounted upolllrsaid in presence0' two wit 5-"111 s a series 0 re 1a. evers plvota y attac h edintermediate their ends to said Wheel l HENRY R- and at the outer endsto said smlular mem- Witnesses: ber, a.- sleeve member on the drlvenshaft en- ANNA M. Donn, gaging said levers to move the same, and a R;STICKNEY

